Inspiration from fashion week

For those of us who have never been invited to an exclusive fashion week event, whether in Milan, New York, or Paris, here is a little bit of insider's info from Slate magazine:

"... the experience of any designer's collection begins with the invitation, and so the invitation—a ticket to an imaginary world where everything has been stripped away but art, craft, status, and symbolism—must make a statement."

As a surefire way to impress your guests to your next birthday soirée, corporate event, or even wedding, you can recreate a designer's statement without stealing their essence.

Design on left from party dress designer Nanette Lepore, takes inspiration from the modern woman. The event details are scribbled around the image in a font reminiscent of handwriting.

Recreate this modern feel with Mingle, on right:

Channel the class and style of Badgley Mischka with a simple and gloriously sophisticated, letterpressed invitation:

For more notes from the fashion world of stationery, read the full article here.

There must be something in the water!

Currently, three of our Invitation Consultant team members are engaged! Working amongst wedding invitations and accessories gives them a unique perspective on their own wedding plans, and they were sweet enough to share them with me today:

The happy couple: Jennifer, Operations Manager, and Trevor

Wedding month: May

Invitation and why you picked it: I picked the Perennial invitation for many reasons. I have always been drawn to the color and the vine design on the velum. As my wedding began to take shape, it just fit right into my wedding. Plus, it comes assembled and my (picky) fiancé liked it too. We are even going to carry the vine design into our wedding cake!

Wedding colors and/or theme: Plum and Sage green, with an elegant spring theme.

The happy couple: Keri, Client Relations Coordinator, and Dominic

Wedding month: September 26, 2008

Invitation and why you picked it: Square Shimmer, item #NU5T5907AT. I picked this invitation because it captured the essence of what I wanted in my invitation.  It was different and stood out amongst the thousands of invitations we have to offer. The quality is impeccable and I feel it will set the tone for my event.

Wedding colors and/or theme: My wedding colors are latte and ivory. The theme for my wedding is romantic and elegant. 

The happy couple:  Rebecca, Creative Director, and Damon

Wedding month:  May

Invitation and why you picked it:  Jean M "Lori" Invitation - simple, modern style. I picked it because I LOVE pink and liked the style of the ribbon.

Wedding colors and/or theme:    pink  &  green  - no theme

From left to right, Jennifer with her Perenial invitation, Keri with her Square Shimmer invitation, and  Rebecca with an invitation which will be featured on the website shortly. Check out the New section on the website for this invitation and more fresh styles.

The First Day of Spring

Today is the first day of spring! Typically, the first day of spring falls on either March 20th, or 21st and is based on the position of the sun to the earth. "When going from Winter to Spring, the Sun is moving North, and as soon as the Sun crosses the equator, we call it Spring," says WikiAnswers.

To celebrate, check out our selection of new baby shower invitations and birth announcements!

From left to right: It's Raining It's Pouring, Baby Sign, and Baby Bingo

And the winner of the $250 Gift Card Giveaway is...

Michelle and Kevin

June 28, 2008

A week before the proposal, Kevin had called me at work mentioning he had won tickets to the Edmonton Art Gallery as an incentive at work. So he asked me if I wanted to go and I said "Yes, for sure!" We always do out of the ordinary stuff like that on a Saturday so I thought why not?! I haven't had the chance in a while to see some good paintings or art.

On Saturday, October 21st, 2006, I was getting ready for our day at the gallery. Kevin has asked me to be ready by 2:30 p.m. so we can arrive at the gallery by 3:00 p.m. He showed up at my door step at around that time, but like usual I wasn't ready. My hair was not done yet. He said "No worries! I'll just wait here in your living room until you are done everything." He was as calm as he could be! I didn't see anything different from him at that time. At about 10 minutes before 3:00 p.m., I was finally ready!

We arrived at the gallery and checked in. We entered the first floor of art and paintings. I was actually taking my time browsing at each piece of art and reading the descriptions or what you call inscriptions of each painting. About 15 to 20 minutes had already elapsed and Kevin mentions to me that there are about three floors of art in this building and that we should make our way upstairs to the top floor and work our way down so we could see everything and he said that upstairs might be a little more interesting!

We were making our way up the stairs and we came to a large room filled with paintings on each wall of the room. I walked into the room and just glanced at some of the paintings, then I noticed and saw a display in a glass covered showcase in the middle of the room. I thought I should go and check it out.

Looking into the showcase, I noticed a ring that looked quite familiar to my eyes. I read the little inscription beside it and it had said: A twentieth century ring worn by a twentieth century princess. I'm thinking WOW, who could this princess be?! It sounded really interesting!...and then to the right of the ring that was in a beautiful white ring box, it said in an engraved inscription Michelle, will you marry me? Right there and then, I put two and two together thinking...I'm Michelle?!!! I looked at Kevin and he was just smiling back at me. He took the glass cover off of the display case and took the ring out, went down on his knee and said I love you with all my heart and I could see myself being with you for the rest of my life. Please make me the happiest man in this world...Michelle, will you marry me? As he was proposing, I heard like 20 or more footsteps come out and around the other side of the room to where me and Kevin were standing, which were all of my close family and friends and had surrounded us to witness everything, one of the most special and happiest days of my life! Of course, I said Yes, I will marry you! Everyone was clapping and congratulating me and Kevin with hugs and kisses. I was crying with tears of joy and I was just feeling overwhelmed with the surprises I got at that time. It was so hard for me to talk or speak because I was just so caught off guard with everything and that was the best part of it all! It was a surprise I will definitely never forget!!!

Another special edition was that the proposal was all caught on tape by our really good friend Mark. Mark and my sister managed to document everything from its beginnings even before I arrived to the gallery with friends and family congratulating us both with their sweet wishes and words on video...to the end, when Kevin also made reservations for everyone to follow and come join us in our celebration at The Moose Factory restaurant.

Congratulations Michelle & Kevin!

Win a custom stamper!

Our friends over at Weddingbee are running a giveaway for a custom stamper from Invitation Consultants! To enter, go here, comment on the blog which design is your favorite, and one random winner will be selected by 8pm EST tomorrow.  Good luck!

Only 7 days left!

Just a friendly reminder- the Invitation Consultants' engagement contest ends in 7 DAYS! There's some tough competition but this is anyone's game so submit your engagement story today for a chance to win a $250 gift card towards your wedding invitations.

Official Rules:

How to enter:

• Attach your photo to the e-mail to weddingcontest@invitationconsultants.com (Do not send from online photo sharing programs).
• Include in the e-mail the future bride and groom's first names, wedding date, and your unique engagement story which will be featured online if you are the WINNER!
• Include your contact information. (This information will not be on our website. It will only be used to contact you if you win.)

The winner will be announced right here on March 14th- so tune in!

Stamp of Approval

They've arrived! Check out our new selection of custom stampers here! Perfect on invitation envelopes, stationery, party favors and so much more. Comment below what you would use a custom stamper on! The possibilities are endless!